I joined my first startup about 4 years ago, early in the life of that company. We had about 50 paying enterprise customers using the product and who willing and eager to share feedback to make the product better. While I was there, we were lucky enough to grow and continued to add customers to our subscription service. We grew enough to get our cash burn down to zero and eventually became profitable (20mph – 100mph). However, we faced many challenges along way. Some of which at the time made it seem like we were never going to make it through.

As we approach the Hanukah home stretch (day 6, but who is counting), I penned a pastiche to "I had a little driedel" that speaks to what TheSquareFoot does for tenants who are looking for office space.

So it's that time of year. Thanksgiving. It's one of my favorite holidays as it brings together two of my favorite things: food and more food (and my family). The other nice thing is that it always brings me back home to Houston, Texas when the weather is perfect this time of year (75 as I write this). I flee the colder climes where I have lived for the last 7 or so years in the artic tundras of DC and NYC.

Office spaces have evolved tremendously since the days of whitewashed corporate offices with a cubicle for every employee. When some managers felt they needed to encourage teamwork in the workplace, many tore down cubicle barriers, while a largely employee-led desire to operate on more flexible schedules transformed coffee shops and homes all across the country into remote offices.

Just as an urban-dwelling bachelor living by himself does not need a seven-seat minivan to accommodate his transportation needs (it's hardly a glamorous ride anyway), a recently launched startup with a bare-bones staff is unlikely to need a sprawling Houston office space with room for 40 employees.

Space is very valuable to a business and every square foot of space can be utilized in some way. Sometimes, when moving into a new office, you realize that some of your items fail to fit in your preconceived layout, or maybe you are starting to realize that your inventory and equipment takes more space in your office. One of your options could be to cram everything in your office space, possibly causing a cluttered mess. Another possible option is to find storage. With those two options open to you, when does it make more sense to rent a storage unit instead of leasing more commercial space?

When real estate developer Kevin Williamson arrived in Austin 14 years ago, the West Sixth Street district was not much to write home about - a deli and a steakhouse were the main attractions. They were, at least, until Williamson helped pioneer the expansion of several businesses that have transformed the area into a vibrant destination spot, which has positively effected Austin office space.

Expansion is a welcome challenge for most businesses, and with it comes a variety of decisions. One of the most important may regard the business' physical location, and whether or not a company wants to buy or lease its new home.

After reading a recent article on the dark side of co-working, we thought we would chime in. It comes as no surprise that co-working is starting to see some backlash among small businesses and contractors. As a relatively new solution to traditional office space in the U.S., co-working has taken off like a wildfire. If you are on either the west coast or east coast and involved in commercial real estate or you are looking for real estate – you certainly have seen all the cool, open, innovative co-working solutions. It is starting to pick up everywhere else, but it seems the coasts have taken the lead.

The always awesome Mark Suster posted on New Years his new year's resolution to spend more time on "the right side of the Haimish line" which is a term that was coined by David Brooks here. I highly recommend reading both Suster and Brooks in their entirety as this notion of the hamish line it is a great way to have a more fulfilling year. I agree whole heartedly in getting out in the mix. It's why I try to strike up conversations with those around me where ever I am. There is always something new and interesting to learn from others.